Last night, I did a live webinar on Food Addiction and emotional eating. So many of the call-in questions concerned what to do instead of reaching for food when emotionally upset. This is a great question because it has to do with breaking the habit of going to food for emotional reasons.

In order to break that habit, you have to substitute another behavior for the food. This doesn’t mean that the substituted behavior will be as pleasurable as eating, as easy to do as eat, or as rewarding as food. But it does mean that if you can continue to substitute another behavior, or what I am calling use an an emotional rescue, you will eventually break the habit of reaching for food to soothe yourself.

Here are examples of emotional rescues. Your list should be tailored to you.

Walk around a room–get up and move and distract yourself

Talk to someone

Play a CD and get lost in the music

Write a To Do list

Draw or paint

Take a long relaxing bath

Clean something

Play with your pet

Count to 10 and then backwards, deep breathe

Pray

Journal your thoughts

Exercise–short walk, stretching, etc.

As you develop your list, come up with ideas you can do in the car, at the office and at your home. Look at the list when you want to eat and make yourself choose an emotional rescue. Over time, you can change your pattern of emotional eating.

Another technique called the Graduated Approach, uses this idea with food. When you feel like you must have a trigger food, add a small helping of a fruit or vegetable to the trigger food. Do this every time you reach for the trigger food and add a little less of the trigger food, and more of the healthier option. Eventually, you will associate the healthy food with the reward feeling of the trigger food.

Add these two tips to your plan to work on breaking free from emotional or compulsive eating. It can be done.

Linda Mintle

It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems and in a relatable style. Dr. Linda’s fun personality comes through whether she’s helping her audiences prevent a divorce or make peace with their thighs!

Dr. Linda Mintle is a national expert on the psychology of food, weight and body image and relationships. With years of clinical experience in weight loss and eating disorders, she is uniquely qualified to bring sensibility and real help to anyone struggling with weight, eating and body image. Her latest book, Press Pause Before You Eat explores how to say goodbye to mindless eating and hello to the joy of eating.

Dr. Linda is a best selling author, winner of the Mom’s Choice Award, a national news consultant and blogger and hosts her own website. Her academic appointment at Eastern Virginia Medical School keeps her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family’s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. Her current assignment as a national news consultant allows her to comment on mental health issues in the news. As a licensed marriage and family therapist and licensed clinical social worker, she brings 25 years of clinical experience to every day living.

It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to every day living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought after speaker on college campuses, at conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and help you with Real Life. Real Answers.